LLANDUDNO fell one run short of claiming a notable away victory as they tied their North Wales Cricket League Premier Division encounter at Gresford.

Jack Rimmington’s side put in a much-improved display but were not able to claim bragging rights by the slimmest of margins, and they face a double-header next weekend in their league trip to Hawarden Park, while also hosting Northop in the Welsh Cup.

All-rounder Danial Evans got the away side off to a promising start in the field with the early wickets of Matty Thompson (18) and skipper Chris Ellwood, while opener Sam Thompson was superbly run out by Tom Thornton after contributing just nine.

The home resistance came in the form of Matthew Cree, who produced a number of eye-catching strokes on his way to 55 before he was caught behind off an Evans delivery, who ended the day with figures of 3-27.

Other scores of note came from Daniel Williams (34) and Chris Mullock (38*) as the hosts set a modest target of 195-6 from their 50 overs at the crease.

Things looked very encouraging for the visitors early on thanks to impressive scores from Matthew Jones (26) and wicketkeeper Keegan Armstrong (34), with Sam Rimmington also getting some much-needed runs before he was ousted by Sam Thompson five runs short of his half century.

Evans replicated his form with the ball and hit six boundaries on his way to 60, but a middle order collapse ensured a nervy end to proceedings when victory looked assured.

Kevin James (3), Alex Owen (8), Ajay Dhawan (2) all failed to impact the scoreboard as wickets began to tumble, and with time running out Thornton was stumped off a Jack Bunkell (4-26) strike to ensure the away side finished on the same total for both sides to go home with something to show for their efforts.